Night had fallen over Ponyville and the citizens had been instructed to keep off the streets and have ample lighting in their homes. The number of streetlights had increased, and unicorn residents had conjured mage lights that hovered between houses and every dark corner the streetlights couldn’t touch. And if all else failed there were torches on every road, especially out to the apple family farm and Fluttershy’s cabin. Zarathon and Mute had tried to convince Zecora to move into the grand palace for her safety, but she had just responded that she could take care of a few malicious shadows. However, Arcane Song had given her a mage light just in case.

With the roads and town secured, there was time for the local garrison to prepare for the hunt. The soldiery was outfitted with bows and arrows dipped in oil. They were also given a few lanterns and some torches, and if all else failed they had some fireworks. As for their other weapons, they mostly went with spears on Zarathon’s recommendation⁠—except for Adamantine Will who brought her halberd—and dipped their blades in oil as well. They were also given matches and a tinderbox. The more equipment they were given the more it seemed to dawn on the soldiery that their assignment would be more dangerous than what they usually did for the town. It was true that there was the occasional disaster or creature from the Everfree, but none of those were usually sinister by nature. The shades were a true evil, one not meant to be encountered for the sake of a pony’s mind and soul. But they had agreed to the mission, to learn from Zarathon, and as such, they ventured into the Everfree.

Mute—with Zarathon behind his horn—took the lead. Despite the darkness of the forest and the moving shadows of the lanternlight, the changeling moved easily between branches, over shrubbery, and under fallen trees. It did not take long for Mute to get far ahead of the group.

“Don’t let them out of your sight, my friend. I feel no greater shades tonight, but that doesn’t mean the forest is harmless. A single shade can cause great harm if it gets lucky.”

Mute rolled his eyes at the statement and shook his head at his friend’s obvious words.

“I know you know this, as well you should, but one should always practice and revisit the basics. When all the fancy techniques fail and there is no special arcanum that can save you the basics reign supreme. Remember my words on the duel with Crazst: if you are someone with great magical power, even with little training on the subject, you can throw every fancy spell in the world at your enemy, but it would be without precision and wisdom. If your enemy then is a master of the basics, someone that is precise and wise, then all those fancy spells will be for naught. Or put in simpler terms: You may light the sky ablaze with an uncontrolled burst of magic, but it wouldn’t even crack a simple shield-ward if it was drawn by a master.”

Mute nodded at Zarathon’s words and clicked his tongue as he surveyed the surroundings. His blue eyes suddenly snapped to some movement in the undergrowth and he crouched down with a hiss.

“Focus, Mute. That is a squirrel or rabbit, not a shade. Feel your connection to the Ember, and let it guide your eyes. The Ember will show you where the corruption is,” Zarathon said.

Mute nodded and straightened his back. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt
the familiar warmth in his chest, the ebb and flow of the Ember, and he felt it pull him east.

Zarathon’s flame gave an approving flicker. “Good work, Mute. Now lead them there.”

As the pebble and changeling ‘spoke’ with one another Holy Vow walked up beside them. The pegasus held up his lantern with his left wing and he swept it over the undergrowth. He observed the movement Mute had seen as well before he gave the changeling a concerned look. “Is it a shade?”

Mute shook his head and pointed his left hoof eastward, further into the woods.

“How can you see so well? In the darkness I mean? We have lanterns and I still feel like I can’t see crap,” Holy muttered and eyed their dark surroundings.

Mute pushed further into the dark woods and he shrugged.

Zarathon’s flames flickered in Holy’s direction and he cleared his non-existent throat. “Mute is a changeling warrior. As part of the noble changeling race, he can see in darkness. It is a gift bestowed upon those that can assassinate and hide in plain sight.”

“Assassinate? I wouldn’t call him stealthy,” Holy deadpanned.

Zarathon chuckled and his flame disappeared. Holy’s lantern went out at the same time until it suddenly relit. The pegasus blinked and looked around in bewilderment as he realized the changeling and pebble were both gone. He raised his lantern and looked around. “Hello? Mute?”

The pegasus let out a surprised shout as he was suddenly grabbed from behind and he felt a foreleg around his throat. He struggled for a second before he was let go and Mute walked past him into the woods once more.

“Do not underestimate a species made for infiltration and deception, Mr. Vow!” Zarathon yelled with a laugh as Mute led them further eastwards, a proud smirk on his lips.

Over an hour of walking took place before the group stopped in a clearing lit by the dim moonlight. Holy Vow and Adamantine made a campfire to keep away the chill of the night and the large brown earth pony stallion joined them. The pink unicorn mare sat down next to Adamantine and whispered something worriedly to her, to which Adamantine shook her head and gave her some reassuring words. The earth pony mare with runes carved onto her body sat down far away from the campfire by a tree. She used her lantern to examine the diagram she’d drawn of the blitz-flare ward.

Lieutenant Radiant Sword walked up to Mute who stood at the edge of the clearing and clicked his tongue nervously. The pony opened his mouth as if to say something, but he refrained and just watched the pebble and changeling.

“Hum… I feel them too, Mute. There are quite a few congregating here. They must be attracted to the nearby castle. Perhaps they feel safe in its dark halls. Or maybe they are looking for something which might help them. They will burn either way,” Zarathon said with a huff.

Mute nodded and looked at Radiant with a tilted head.

“I believe you should inform the group of what happens next. They are anxious to get started,” the lieutenant said with a nod and walked back to the campfire.

Mute headed back to the group and he held up Zarathon with his hoof. The ponies waited on the pebble’s words.

“Everyone, listen up! We are now in shade territory. Their stench is on every tree and rock in the vicinity and they are already looking for victims and safe places to build nests. If you see dark slimy holes then burn them, shades use them to rest during the day. If you see any shade then use the blitz-flare ward to temporarily paralyze them and kill them with fire. Should you encounter a possessed pony then lead them to me. If you were to run into a pony that isn’t possessed but your eyes sting just from looking at them then run, and I must put emphasis on this: run, and lead them to me as well. Remain vigilant and stick to groups. But I will first show you how you lure the shades to you so you may kill them.”

Mute placed Zarathon behind his horn again and he backed away from the group into the woods. Then Zarathon’s flame flickered out. As the changeling and pebble vanished there were suddenly the sounds of many things moving in the undergrowth. There was an unnatural shriek and Zarathon’s flames flickered back to life. A large worm-like creature was now attached to Mute’s right foreleg and the changeling gave the being an unimpressed look. The worm shrieked in pain at the light from Zarathon’s flames and a great many beings hurried away in the undergrowth, disturbing the leaves and shrubs. The worm tried to escape but Mute grabbed it with his hoof and an angry huff.

“Always quite feisty, these small ones,” Zarathon said as Mute grabbed hold of him and pushed the pebble’s flames against the shade.

The ponies looked on in awe as the shade let out a shrill screech as its body lit up faster than kindling. The creature wiggled in Mute’s grasp for a second before it turned to ash and blew away in the wind. With the shade dead Mute and Zarathon made their way back to the group.

Adamantine Will gave the two of them a skeptical look. “So you want to place us at the mercy of these shades by having us extinguish our lanterns?”

Zarathon’s flame swayed at her. “No, it is enough to cover them with a cloth. The shades will not approach as long as there is adequate light. The moonlight isn’t enough to make them flee, but they are still uncomfortable when they are exposed to it. Clearings are often safe because of this. No lesser shade will build a nest where they’d be exposed to light, but they can fight in a clearing if they are desperate enough.”

The small pink unicorn mare looked around nervously. “But if we fail at killing them, what happens then?...”

“Then you will likely become possessed and I will have to expend precious energy to remove the shade from you, so I would rather that you don’t fail, young… What was your name, young lady?”

“My name is Arcane Song, Lord Zarathon…” she mumbled and eyed the dark forest.

“You want us to use this ward-thingy but I don’t know how. You can’t just send us out there without any practice,” the large earth pony stallion slammed his hooves onto the ground and huffed at the changeling and pebble.

Mute took a step back and strained his leg muscles, ready to flee.

Zarathon just sighed. “I was getting to that mister… I don’t know your name either, nor the name of your strange brethren over there by the tree.”

The rune-covered earth pony mare perked up from the diagram she’d drawn as she was mentioned and she gave them a placid stare. “Thorne.”

“So miss Thorne and you are?...”

The earth pony stallion frowned at the pebble. “Iron Hoof.”

“Very well, Iron Hoof, I want you to draw the blitz-flare ward into the dirt and then channel magic into it. Once you stop channeling, the ward will shower the area with light that will stun and blind nearby shades. Most shades will back away if you do this,” Zarathon said.

Iron looked skeptical and he turned his gaze to Adamantine. “Thoughts, duchess?”

“Do as he says. I have shield spells at the ready to protect us,” she said.

Iron Hoof nodded and he began to draw the ward. Once he was done he placed his hoof onto it and closed his eyes as he channeled his earth pony magic into the symbol. It began to glow red like embers and he looked up at Zarathon and Mute.

“Now stop channeling,” Zarathon said.

Iron Hoof let go and the ward exploded with radiant holy light. Warmth washed over them for a second and shrieks came from the edges of the clearing. Iron rubbed his eyes and looked around. “Well, that certainly did something…”

The group watched as there was an explosion of movement in the undergrowth and a dozen shades fled into the woods. Though they returned after a few minutes, prowling at the edges of the clearing.

“Once they are no longer dazed they’ll temporarily flee, but they never go far. A shade is a tenacious and viscous parasite, and it rarely abandons its prey. Use that ward to stun and drive them away if you become overwhelmed. Your lantern light can also work in a pinch, but they fear its fire more than its light. The blitz-flare ward on the other hand comes from the Ember’s light and as such hurts them,” Zarathon explained.

Iron Hoof nodded and grabbed his lantern and covered it with a cloth. He walked toward the edge of the clearing where the fire’s light was minimal and he grabbed a stick with which he drew the blitz-flare ward. The stallion placed his hoof on the ward and waited, staring into the woods. Throne eyed him curiously from her tree and she too covered her lantern with a cloth so that darkness could fall over them.

The group watched with bated breaths as the forest rustled with the sound of shades and a mighty shriek fell over the clearing. The large silhouette of Iron moved and cursed as a shape attached itself to his shoulder and the silhouette of Throne moved to help him. Suddenly the bright light of the ward washed over the clearing once more. In the brief moment of light, the group saw two of the worm-like shades attached to Iron’s shoulder and leg with Throne by his sides trying to tear them off. Then Iron uncovered his lantern and revealed the two dazed shades. They wiggled in his hoof, making wet and sloppy sounds, and they let out small shrieks. The stallion looked at them with fascination and disgust. Throne leaned in to get a closer look and let an amused scoff as the creatures whined in pain.

“Now throw them into the fire!” Zarathon yelled, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

Iron blinked and seemed to come back to reality. “Yes, of course.”

The stallion hurried back to the campfire, each step in its light drawing terrified shrieks from the shades. Then he reached it and threw them into the flames. The shades let out pained screeches as they burned alive and became nothing more than ash.

The group stood huddled around the fire and watched as the ash was thrown into the air by the fire and drifted away in the wind. Mute gave Iron Hoof a nod of respect and then pointed in the direction of the castle of the two sisters, the imposing ruined castle seen far in the distance, a mere silhouette against the night. Zarathon’s flames flickered in that direction as well.

“Now you have seen how you kill a shade, but remember my words, do not underestimate them. They can be a true threat in large numbers and even one can possess you if it gets lucky. Use torches to burn them or spells if you have them. Use the ward to stun them if you want an easier kill. But most importantly do not go alone. Always have a companion by your side and have that companion be a unicorn if you are not one. Therefore: for Iron Hoof, you should go with Arcane Song. Thorne, you should stick with duchess Will. Lieutenant Sword and Holy Vow will follow me and Mute.”

Adamantine scoffed. “I give the orders here, Zarathon. We should stick as a group, not spread out! There are too many of these things in the woods.”

Mute dug a hole in the ground and he mimicked the movements of a worm with his foreleg nestling itself into the hole. He then spread his forelegs wide to showcase a large area.

“My compatriot is right, there are nests all over the forest. The more we destroy the more shades will perish during the day as they’ll have no place to rest and hide. We need to split up and work our way to the castle if we want to ease our burden for the coming days,” Zarathon said.

Adamantine sighed and reluctantly nodded at his words. “Fine, but we turn back immediately if something goes wrong, is that understood?”

Zarathon’s flames waved in agreement, not unlike a nod. “Of course.”

And so the group split up and went their separate ways into the forest, all heading east towards the castle looming in the distance.

“Is that a nest?” Holy Vow asked and pointed to a black hole in the ground with its sides smeared in black tar. The hole itself was no bigger than a small pumpkin, but the soil around it was raised and Holy’s hooves sank a bit into the ground as he stood near it.

“Careful, son. We don’t know if there’s any of them in there…” Radiant Sword mumbled and peered into the forest that surrounded them.

Holy Vow nodded at the lieutenant's words and he grabbed a lantern with his right wing and he held it over the hole. He’d peer into the black abyss and suddenly gagged. He coughed and quickly backed away from the hole with a look of disgust. “It smells like something died in there!”

“They are the embodiment of evil! Of course, something has died in there!” Zarathon said.

Mute approached the hole and sniffed the air. The changeling growled and rubbed his snout in an irritated manner. He’d motion for a torch from Liutentant Sword who quickly lit one and handed it to the changeling. Mute peered into the black hole and hissed into it. The low raspy sound echoed in the nest and soon there was a reply of several screeches. The changeling scoffed and placed the torch against the black substance coating the nest’s sides. Just like the shades the black substance lit up like kindling and fire quickly spread into the hole. There were multiple screeches, parts of the earth began to move underneath their hooves, and then there was silence.

Holy Vow gulped and looked at the disturbed soil. “How large are these nests?”

Zarathon let a hollow laugh. “Larger than you may think. The largest nests could hold a house or two and you’d never know. But it doesn’t matter if you have a fire. The problems arise from carelessness or bad luck. Or elder shades… Blasted elder shades can dim lanterns and touch normal fires…”

Mute hissed into the hole and then continued walking east. The two ponies followed the changeling and the pebble and Holy Vow leaned closer to Lieutenant Sword to whisper a few words.

“What do you think, Lieutenant? The duchess doesn’t seem to trust them but they’re doing what they said they’d do.”

The lieutenant hummed at his words. “From what I’ve been able to understand from whispers from a few friends in the castle guard and from the duchess herself Zarathon was not far from Sombra himself.”

“Sombra? Like King Sombra from the old foal’s tales?”

“The very same… Supposedly Zarathon supported Sombra when he lived and he had a hand—or maybe claw?—in the chaos that gripped the south at that time. Lots of broken kingdoms and the like.”

Holy eyed the trees, his face scrunched up in thought. “And Mute?”

The liutentnant shrugged. “There was no mention of changelings, my friends were just as confused by his appearance as we were. I asked miss Sparkle about it and she said there wasn’t a lot known about changelings. They're shapeshifters that live in the far south but beyond that, we know little.”

“So Mute can change what he looks like?” Holy asked.

“Change what he looks like? Have you seen his horn, son? He will never cast magic like that again unless his horn is healed.”

Mute flicked his ears and looked crestfallen as the two ponies discussed his broken horn. He did not blame them for speaking of it aloud, they didn’t know changelings had a powerful hearing. But his chest stung at their words. He ran his left hoof over his horn and sighed. He felt the cracks and odd dents, the soreness and stinging pain as his hoof touched the poorly healed structure, and most of all he felt how useless it was.

“Are you alright, my friend?” Zarathon said with a hushed voice, his flames flickering in concern, washing over the structure to give it a soothing warmth.

The changeling shook his head at the question but he gave the pebble a thankful nod as the holy flames washed away the pain. It was only momentarily though, the pain would always return. It refused to die, and perhaps he deserved it.

“We’ll find a way. I will honor my promise to you. After all I— Did you hear that?”

Mute had been so preoccupied with his horn that he barely heard the rustling of leaves. He looked to the trees at his left and he found himself staring into two inky black eyes. The changeling let out a loud hiss and moved to jump back, but the creature pounced. A white earth pony threw itself into Mute and it sent the changeling rolling over the undergrowth. Zarathon was flung from Mute’s horn, soared into the woods, and disappeared among the foliage. Only the dim glow from Zarathon's fire hinted at where he'd fallen.

"Mute! Mute come and get me! That commoner is possessed!"

However, Mute had no time to fetch his friend as the earth pony pinned him against the ground. The changeling spat and screeched as he tried to get the white stallion off him. He pushed his forelegs into the pony’s throat only for the attacker to sink its teeth into one of them. Mute let out a pained hiss and headbutted the pony, which in turn made the changeling scream as he struck his horn against the attacker’s skull. His skull rang like a bell and he felt his stomach flip from the pain. For a second he felt like he'd puke up whatever love he'd been able to feed off Holy Vow and the lieutenant during their walk. The attacker raised his hoof to stomp down on Mute's head with a mad grin.

“Get off him, you bastard!” Holy Vow, using his wings for extra speed, flew into the side of the attacker and sent him rolling across the ground. He grabbed hold of his spear with his right wing and snorted in anger at the attacker. “Lieutenant get the lanterns! There must be shades here!”

Radiant Sword hurried towards the two with the lanterns only for another pony, this one a black unicorn mare, to jump him from the trees. There was a great discord of sounds as the lieutenant and mare hit the ground and the lanterns were smashed into tiny pieces, casting embers into the air. In the light of the embers, one could see her black inky eyes and the black whisps of smoke that trailed from her skull. She hissed not unlike the shades and headbutted the lieutenant.

And within all this noise and chaos there was Zarathon’s voice from deep in the foliage. “Mute! You can't purge them without me!”

Mute and Holy were however in no position to help either the lieutenant or the pebble. The white earth-pony stallion rammed into them both and tried to bite them like a mad animal. Holy tried to keep him at bay only for the attacker to sink his teeth into Holy's neck. The pegasus screamed and stabbed the assailant, piercing the attacker’s chest, but the earth pony did not stop. Mute sank his fangs into the pony’s shoulder and tore out a chunk of his flesh, but the earth pony did not stop. The attacker wrestled the spear from Holy’s grasp and struck Mute’s horn, sending the changeling to the floor writhing in pain. Holy managed to push the attacker back and he pulled a short sword from his side. The attacker stumbled, the spear firmly lodged in his chest, but the pony did not fall.

“Mute! Get up!” Holy yelled and dodged to the side as the pony dove for him.

Mute’s vision danced with colors and his breathing felt uneven, yet he pushed himself up only to stare into the round maw of a shade. The worm shrieked and jumped at his head, attaching itself to Mute’s horn. The changeling let out a pained shriek and got up, desperately pulling on the worm.

Meanwhile, the lieutenant struggled to get the unicorn mare off his body. His horn lit up and a stream of fire shot out from his horn straight into the mare’s face. She fell to the side and screamed as the fire spread over the rest of her body. Radiant Sword got up and grabbed his spear that he’d dropped and he ran to Mute and Holy Vow. He let out a battle cry as he charged into the white earth pony and stabbed him through the neck. The attacker let out a gurgled hiss and stumbled back as black tar-like blood pooled from the wound. The white earth pony pressed a hoof against his neck and glared hatefully at them before his black eyes seemed to grow dim. He fell, his body limp, and he did not get back up. For a second the other attacker tried to stand up, her fur smoldering and skin burnt. She let out low raspy breaths and took a step forward only to fall onto her side. The smell of her burnt flesh and fur hung over the woods.

"Gods protect us..." Radiant Sword mumbled and looked grimly at the two fallen ponies.

However, there was no time to contemplate the two assailants. Mute continued to struggle with the shade on the ground until the creature suddenly turned to smoke and vanished into the changeling’s ears. Mute hissed and spat and got to his feet. He wildly bucked his back legs and slammed his head into a tree trunk. The changeling rolled his neck as if diseased and he fell back onto his side. Holy and Radiant hurried to his side only to be pushed back by a powerful kick. Mute got up and gagged before he opened his eyes to reveal them just as black as the attackers' had been. And then he puked black tar over the ground and his eyes cleared.

“What in the world…” Holy mumbled as he watched the changeling then chough out ash.

“Mute! Mute come and get me!” Zarathon yelled from the woods. “I can purge the shades from them!”

Mute stumbled through the branches and found Zarathon underneath the shrubbery. He grabbed the pebble and placed him behind his horn once more and then made it back to the others, panting for air.

“The stallion is dead. The mare, go to the mare!” Zarathon said.

Mute hurried to the burnt form of the unicorn mare and he quickly began to draw wards around her body. They came alive with the Ember’s glow and a golden light streamed over the mare’s body, mostly focused on her head. Part of the light streamed into the mare’s mouth and expanded her chest. Holy Vow and Lieutenant Sword walked over and watched in quiet awe as the mare’s breath returned to normal. Though the light died down before all her burns and wounds disappeared. Mute fell to his haunches and panted, shaking his head at the excursion. The wards then took on another glow, a deep red one, and the mare coughed up the same tar-like substance that Mute had.

“We can do no more for her. The rest is up to your healers and medicine,” Zaraton said.

Radiant Sword nodded. “I’ll signal the others. Hopefully, they found more nests than us…”

As the lieutenant send colorful flares from his horn into the sky Holy Vow helped Mute stand and he looked over the changeling’s horn. “You need to get that looked at. You were helpless once he struck it.”

Mute just gave him a tired nod.

“There is no healing it with your medicine and spells. But he might need a check-up nonetheless. I will not let a fellow Lord of cinder remain injured, not when we both must be present to handle the shades.”

Holy Vow looked at the corpse of the white earth pony stallion and shook his head sadly. “Poor bastard… I’ve never had to kill a civilian before...”

“And pray that you won’t have to do it again,” Radiant Sword said through gritted teeth and eyed the corpse. “I have fought in a war, I've seen many perish, but never have I had to turn my weapons against my people. I did so today out of necessity and I will do so again if the need arise, but we need a contingency for something like this, a way to ensure the lives of the infected. We must bring tools or learn spells that could aid in helping them. And we need to get Mute’s damn horn fixed.”

Zarathon snorted. “It refuses to heal, but try anyway. Furthermore, there would not have been any need for tools if Mute had not been distracted by our prattle, for that I am sorry my friend. I suppose I am a hypocritical Lord, telling you to focus and then distracting you myself.”

The changeling nodded thanks at his words and then he eyed the injured mare with an anxious look. Mute remember a burning carriage for a second, the pain of flames, and he shuddered.

“This war is a harsh one, ponies. Every friend you have ever made can be turned, and I will not always be there to purge the shade from them. You may have to kill more of the common pony, maybe some of your soldiers, maybe even your family members. That is the insidious nature of this war. If you can not purge the shade and you can not capture it without great risk at yourselves then you need to kill it,” Zarathon said.

"And once they've infected a pony, and if Zarathon is not with us, there is no way to remove them? You would be forced to kill the host?" the lieutenant mumbled.

Mute gave him a grim nod.

Zarathon hummed. "You could try to trap them, but the infected would try to kill you or try to drag you to other shades as you did so. It would be dangerous, too dangerous if you were faced with a group of them without time to prepare. Killing them would be safer at that point."

"Damn it all..." Radiant Sword grumbled.

Holy Vow eyed the corpse of the possessed earth pony and shuddered. “This is war huh?...”

"No, this is not war. War isn't meant to be waged on your people," Radiant Sword said and pulled out a pipe from his saddle bag. "This is just madness, son."

Zarathon's flame flickered and Mute felt a wave of grim amusement flow from the pebble. "You think this is madness? You just wait ponies, you have seen nothing yet..."

Mute sighed and lay down. He needed rest, and as he eyed the burned mare he felt an overwhelming urge to pray at the shrine in the Grand Palace.

This got a bit darker than initially intended but I suppose that is my forte. The next chapter will be a bit lighter—both in tone and word count—and focus more on who the ponies in the guard are. Have a good day/night now!